‘Grand Theft Auto 5′ Feels Next-Gen to Rockstar

After years of waiting, Rockstar Games‘ Grand Theft Auto 5 is less than two weeks away, and anticipation is beginning to reach a fever pitch. That said, hype for the next generation of video game consoles is also beginning to build, and given how the next-gen is only a few months out it’s odd that Rockstar has no plans to port its most popular franchise to either the Xbox One or PS4.

According to Rockstar, however, there’s apparently no need to.

During a recent interview with IGN, Phil Hooker, Rockstar North’s associate technical director and combat designer, stated that the game was an incredible ambitious undertaking for Rockstar Games. Despite being on current hardware, though, Grand Theft Auto 5 still “feels ‘next generation’,” according to the developer.

“When we started we knew the scope of GTA V was huge and incredibly ambitious. Fortunately, from completing GTA IV, we had a team that was already very familiar with the hardware. Every aspect of the game had to be better, richer in gameplay and more fluid and knowing we were launching on the same platforms meant we could focus on extracting the most out of those consoles and making the game as fantastic as possible.”

“In the end we surpassed our own expectations and during development I think everyone working on the game has been astounded by improvements to the graphics, or new mechanics, or AI, or mission scope along the way. Hopefully the gamers will see all of these improvements at once in one go, compared to GTA IV this definitely feels ‘next generation’ to us.”

Based on the trailers and details we’ve gathered from Grand Theft Auto 5 thus far, Hooker can’t be too far off on his claims that the title feels next-gen. Everything from the submarines and planes to the immense Los Santos map that makes up the game are evidence that Rockstar has worked tirelessly in an effort to make this the biggest/best iteration of the series to-date, and that’s without even touching on the insanity that’s sure to be Grand Theft Auto Online.

Whether or not the game can deliver a next generation performance on current consoles remains to be seen, but fans and newcomers alike won’t be waiting much longer to find out.

–

Grand Theft Auto 5 releases on PS3 and Xbox 360 this September 17th.

Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle to chat about GTAV or anything else in gaming.

If they weren’t held back by increasingly noticeable limitations on said current hardware, I bet they could have pushed things even further. This would have been an awesome way to get people on board with PS4 and Xbox One. Sadly, this game had been development loooong before those dev kits were available anyway. My guess is that there will be a PS4, Xbox One, and PC port released later on with bundled DLC and other improvements.

Watch Dogs has been in development for five years and that’s coming out on next-gen consoles. It’s entirely possible, but if they announced a PC release date or a next-gen port, it would eat into Day 1 sales and they wouldn’t break records as they have done with every GTA released since… 3?

I feel like GTA V won’t get a next gen release, but they will carry over GTA Online to the Xbox One/PS4 as a digital download game. GTA Online has to be on next gen consoles if it’s going to last as long as Rockstar wants it to, especially if they eventually recreate the entire world.

Just like the PS2 with GTA:SA and MGS3, my PS3 is not going down without a fight!! Under two weeks and my mind will be blown away by this GTA V/Online, really can’t wait!! I’m thinking that a follow up to RDR will be R*’s first AAA title on the PS4 or maybe Agent, that’s why it’s been so secretive.

It was, as R* always take their time over games to make sure we get the quality I’m sure agent will be a PS4 exclusive as it was a big F.U. Over the locked GTA 4 (Xbox360) timed exclusive content. Rainbow 6 on next gen is a must for me too

Just bought the Official Playstation Magazine and it says that Rockstar have recently renewed their copyright for ‘Agent’ which means that it’s almost certainly still in development and a next-gen release could be happening! There’s still hope!